Sustainability and Social Justice

Leading Change: African Conceptions of Leadership and Transformation in Higher Education in South Africa

Document Type

Book Chapter

Abstract

This chapter presents an example of the sociological tensions and specifically, the issue of researcher identity and ethics, in conducting qualitative research. It uses the phenomenological phenomenographic methodology and in-depth interviewing to explore and graph the tacit conceptions of the Vice-Chancellors of Historically Black Universities in South Africa. The democratic process in South Africa has brought about renewed interest in the role of education as a major agency of the social change process. Higher education institutions in South Africa are, by their legislative mandate, public institutions and therefore, assets of the state and the leadership of these institutions are employees and agents of the state. In South Africa, the term transformation has become synonymous with processes of democratic change and has emerged as the popular mantra to describe all social change. Modern South African society, and in particular, the education sector, uses the term transformation liberally but diffusely.

Publication Title

Realizing Qualitative Research into Higher Education

Publication Date

2003

First Page

171

Last Page

193

ISBN

9781138326552

DOI

10.4324/9780429449819-11

Keywords

leadership, higher education, Africa, South Africa

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